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| Remember when Tom Brady vs. the vaunted Jets defense was always one of the best games of the year? Neither do the SOBs. |
I cannot remember the last time there were so many teams still alive in the playoff race at this point in the season. Check out how the SOBs think this week will play out.
Stally's Eight-Point Pick
New England over @New York Jets
Stally: Austen and I generally make our picks in order of our confidence points in our Yahoo! Pick 'Em Group. It makes sense to pick the game in which you have the most confidence at that time. But, I couldn't break tradition on this one. I always pick the Patriots with the utmost overconfidence when they play the Jets, so why change now when my team is 11-3 and Austen's is 3-11?
The Jets nearly beat the Patriots in New England earlier this year, and Rex Ryan always gets the team up to beat the hated Pats. This one will be close, closer than the records would dictate, but one team is much better than the other and that's New England. It's the pick for this one.
Austen: I mean there is nothing nice I can say about this Jets team right now, so I cannot blame Stally for his homerism. I expect this game to be close, but there is a good chance the Jets hang around only to be blown out in the second half. As much as I would love it, I cannot see a way in which the Jets pull out a win.
Austen's Eight-Point Pick
Green Bay over @Tampa Bay
Austen: While the Packers might not even be winning their division right now, they might be the best team in the league. The Bucs are currently slotted for the first overall pick, and I do not see their draft pick changing this week.
Stally: This was the game in which I had the most confidence as well. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, frankly, got embarrassed in Buffalo last weekend. They'll be playing with a lot of passion in this one and that's bad for a Bucs team playing out the string at 2-12.
Stally's Seven-Point Pick
Philadelphia over @Washington
Stally: Whoops! I missed this one on Saturday afternoon as the Redskins pulled off the surprising upset 27-24. I can't feel nearly as bad as the Eagles, however, who will now need Dallas to lose both its games, including a similar at Washington game, to make the playoffs.
Austen: This was a game the Eagles had to win. This is an inexcusable loss that probably knocks them out of the playoff, as they would need an insane amount of help to stay alive. Say what you want about how well Mark Sanchez has played, Nick Foles deserves his job back.
Austen's Seven-Point Pick
Detroit over @Chicago
Austen: Jimmy Clausen's first start since 2010 is against the best defense in the league? I cannot imagine a scenario that could lead to more of a disaster in the NFL. I cannot imagine a game in which the Lions did not dominate all fazes of the game and keep their position atop the NFC North.
Stally: I said it at the time it happened, firing Lovie Smith as the Head Coach was a mistake by the Bears. They went 10-6 in his final season two years ago, 8-8 last year, and are 5-9 with a benched franchise quarterback so far this season.
Stally's Six-Point Pick
@St. Louis over New York Giants
Stally: Let's discard St. Louis' 12-6 sleeper loss to Arizona a week ago. That was a Thursday night game, so the Rams have had some extra time to focus on this one. The Rams have only give up 12 points in their last three games, having shutout the two opponents before the Cardinals and are certainly the better team.
Austen: I have the Rams as well, but definitely not with anywhere near as much confidence as this. I liken this to when I was rolling with the Browns every week with a ton of confidence. It feel great when it works, but ultimately you realize the hot team that no one saw coming is as bad as everyone thought they were when they put up a stinker. That might be this game for the Rams.
Austen's Six-Point Pick
Seattle over @Arizona
Austen: Back in 2012 when Ryan Lindley was last the Cardinals starting quarterback, he threw zero touchdowns to seven interceptions (and fumbled three times). That was in four starts. Even if he has massively improved since his rookie year, it is hard to bet on a team lead by a guy who has no touchdowns and almost 10 turnovers in his career, even if they are not playing the Super Bowl champs.
Stally: I know the Cardinals are 11-3, but it's hard to win in Seattle at any point, especially with your third-string quarterback starting.
Stally's Five-Point Pick
Buffalo over @Oakland
Stally: This is a character test for the Bills. They just beat a great team in the form of the Packers. Now, they're going on the road against a team 2-12 team in a game that any good team would beat. Is Buffalo a good team? Yes, I think so.
Austen: Buffalo has a great defense. They are not a good team. Either way, a good defense is enough to beat a terrible Raiders team.
Austen's Five-Point Pick
Baltimore over @Houston
Austen: The Texans are down to their third quarterback. I do not care how good JJ Watt is, he cannot do enough to knock of a legit playoff team fighting for their survival in a crazy competitive AFC.
Stally: I actually picked the Texans in this one before Austen pointed out that both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Mallett were out at QB. Case Keenum?! Yeah ... NO!
Stally's Four-Point Pick
@Miami over Minnesota
Stally: The Dolphins are in a similar boat at the Bills. They're playing in a game that they should win. They're better than the Vikings and they're at home. But, are they good enough to guarantee a win? Probably not, but they're still the favorite.
Austen: Both of these teams confuse me, but the Vikings have found a way to lose in a lot of close games, so I think it is pretty safe to bet on the home team that is definitely the more talented team. If the Dolphins lose this game, Joe Philbin should be fired tonight.
Austen's Four-Point Pick
Denver over @Cincinnati
Austen: Stally will point to the Broncos being less dominant than they were last year, but really they are just winning with a different formula. No they are not setting records on offense, but over the last few weeks they have been running the ball amazingly well and playing great defense. This is a team that is ready to win in January. I think they prove it on the road against an inconsistent Bengals team.
Stally: I have Cincinnati with the upset in this one. It might just be my personal bias in hoping Denver loses and helps New England get home-field in the playoffs, but I also don't buy that the Broncos are nearly the same team that they were last year. The Bengals are hard to figure out. They've been blown out in all four of their losses, but do hold a record of 9-4-1. Cincy's offense is capable of winning in a number of ways, and that could undo a strong Denver defense.
Stally's Three-Point Pick
@Dallas over Indianapolis
Stally: Austen thinks the Colts are great, I don't. They're good, but not great, and they've played a JV schedule in the AFC South. Dallas is 7-0 on the road, but only 3-4 at home, which is head scratching, but I still like them at home in this one. A win clinches the division for the Cowboys.
Austen: Andrew Luck is the anti-Tony Romo. While Romo often makes mistakes late that cost his team the win, Luck makes mistakes early and comes back with a vengeance. This should be a great game to watch. I have the Colts, but not with a ton of confidence. If DeMarco Murray were 100% healthy, I might think twice about taking the Colts. However, he is not and I think the Cowboys ability to even hold onto a lead (if they get one) is massively diminished without the ability to feed it to Murray.
Austen's Three-Point Pick
@Pittsburgh over Kansas City
Austen: If I was forced to rank these two teams, I would say that the Steelers are the better team, mostly because I think Ben Roethlisberger is a much, much better quarterback than Alex Smith. This should be a close game, but the fact that the Chiefs have yet to throw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver is still the most astonishing stat in the NFL this season. That says a lot about their ability to put up points on offense.
Stally: I'm glad Austen took this game. Not because I disagree with him, just because both these teams are so inconsistent that it's hard to know what to expect. Both have dominated great teams and both have provided wins to teams that are currently 2-12. The home team seems to make sense in this one.
Stally's Two-Point Pick
@Jacksonville over Tennessee
Stally: I started the week off right on Thursday with this one, which is far more than I can say about the NFL. What was it thinking in making this a national game?!
Austen: I refuse to talk about this game. Moving on.
Austen's Two-Point Pick
@New Orleans over Atlanta
Austen: Let's be totally honest, both of these teams are terrible. It is sad that the winner of this game has a very good shot to win their division. The Falcons won in week one and I do not see them sweeping the Saints this season.
Stally: I went through Austen's picks week-by-week, he's picked the Saints to go 13-1 so far this season. They're 6-8. With Julio Jones expected to play, I'm going with the Falcons offense to outscore the Saints.
Stally's One-Point Pick
@Carolina over Cleveland
Stally: Well, the Johnny Football Experiment has started exactly as I had hoped it would. This isn't college anymore, and he'll need more than just a Tim Tebow-esque skill set to succeed in the NFL. Seeing as how he doesn't have that, I'll go with the Panthers and the return of Cam Newton.
Austen: I hope Johnny Manziel pays attention to the way Cam Newton plays football. Newton has had a rough year, but he is still a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. This could be an ugly game all around, but with Joe Haden out, I think Carolina is the clear favorite at home.
Austen's One-Point Pick
San Diego over @San Francisco
Austen: Both of these teams were so ridden with injuries that it was pretty much a crap shoot on who was going to win this one. The 49ers had a 21 point lead twice in this game, yet still managed to blow it. Philip Rivers threw four touchdowns and thee interceptions. This game was as big of a mess as we all expected.
Stally: Well, I thought we'd both missed this one last night when the 49ers were up 28-7 at the half. Goodness, what a train wreck San Francisco has become. The Chargers pick ended up being right, but barely.
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